Genesis Invitational: Jon Rahm outclasses the field and returns to World No.1

The Genesis Invitational was the first huge PGA Tour tournament in the calendar year, and the return of Tiger Woods certainly had the eyes of the golfing world pinned to Los Angeles this weekend.

Heading into this weekend there was a remarkable air of positivity ahead of the return of one of the sports greatest players, Tiger Woods. He of course has hosted the Genesis Invitational since 2017, so his presence was expected but the 15-time major winner was not expected to feature until the Masters in April.

Woods was placed with Thomas and McIlroy for the first two rounds, a likely coincidence. His issue with walking was evident in areas of fatigue, and particularly in his final few holes of each round. Despite this, he kept hitting birdies and was particularly competitive on the first three days.

The roars as he hit a birdie on the 18th on the second round was utterly special. We are running short on special Woods moments left in his illustrious career, but this weekend he produced a few moments, and was even close to an ace at one minute.

There were disappointing weekends for the likes of McIlroy, who had the coldest putter in the whole world this weekend as he struggled to read the difficult greens. Scheffler was not on his brilliant best for the most part and Speith and Thomas struggled to ever really get going.

One of the notable performances who may go under the radar was Colin Morikawa, who was particularly strong this weekend. He was never truly in contention but provided magic moments from the edge of the greens. If it all strings together for him, he will unquestionably be a threat at majors.

Sahith Theegala also placed himself in a decent position and finished T6. His coverage was particularly limited but once again showed his potential to compete at the top level. Will Zalatoris showed his class on Sunday with a round of -7. If Zalatoris remains consistent, he is certainly in contention for the green jacket. Patrick Cantlay has also maintained his good start to 2023 with a 3rd placed finish.

One of the two outstanding golfers of this weekend was Max Homa. This tournament means the world to him and was emotional after his loss; “I tried man – sorry, this tournament just means a lot to me” He emotionally added as he broke down into tears.

The $2.18m he will earn will not function as much as a consolation to a crushing defeat for him. He was a clear crowd favourite all weekend and kept Rahm honest at the top all the way until the final 18th, where he painfully missed the unlikely birdie opportunity which would have added pressure to Rahm. He added his desperation to win again; “I’m gonna win it again – and be able to do it in front of all these people”.

It was Jon Rahm who appeared inevitable throughout this weekend. The Spaniard was ruthless from start to finish and was in the top five throughout the weekend. He ended -17 under and was particularly flawless on the par 3’s, where he seemed to constantly create tap-in birdies.

Rahm is now the outright favourite for the green jacket. He has been utterly fantastic so far this year, and has had the best start in the PGA Tour in history. It feels as if he is unstoppable if he plays at even 80%, and is rightfully the world number one.

The next big tournament is the Arnold Palmer invitational in a fortnight, before the lucrative The Players Championship in the lead up to The Masters.